UKRAINIAN TRADITIONS AND CEREMONIES IN THE UKRAINIAN ART OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Abstract

The thesis examines Ukrainian traditions and customs in the art of Ukrainian painters of the 19th century. The importance of their role in defining Ukrainian culture is emphasized, the images of the Ukrainian peasantry conveyed in the works of outstanding Ukrainian portrait painters and masters of domestic painting are analyzed. Study of the role of calendar and ritual holidays in the life of the Ukrainian people and their influence on Ukrainian culture and art. The cultural and religious basis of Ukrainian calendar customs and its influence on the worldview of Ukrainians are considered. The cultural and religious basis of Ukrainian calendar customs and its influence on the worldview of Ukrainians are considered. The process of transformation of folk beliefs as a result of the establishment of Christianity during the time of Kуіvan Rus is described, the essence of the «cult of ancestors» is defined as a connection between the living and the dead, which has been preserved in the form of some folk customs in the modern life of Ukrainians. An example is the cultural phenomenon known as «Remembrance Sunday» or «Provody». Also left their mark in the art of the holidays of the summer cycle, widely known to Ukrainians are Ivan Kupala, Green (Trinity), Peter and Paul (end of fasting, beginning of harvest), Macovia, Apple and Bread Saviors, which are a vivid example of the symbiosis of pagan and Christian worldviews. Most often, Ukrainian painters of the 19th century depicted on their canvases Ukrainian Easter traditions from the cycle of spring holidays and Christmas traditions from the cycle of winter holidays. The Easter plots of these works tell how Ukrainian peasants prepared for the holiday, what special dishes made up and looked like the festive table, visits by Ukrainians to churches on Holy Sunday, national Ukrainian costume, entertainment, etc. The numerous holidays of the winter cycle, which Ukrainians celebrated with songs, dishes and rituals that are passed down from generation to generation, were especially rich in authentic Ukrainian rites. Such traditions include caroling, giving, sowing, dressing up as mystical characters, cooking 12 dishes on Christmas Eve, making Didukh, etc. Pagan beliefs are closely intertwined with Christian motifs and form a wide range of traditions and customs with regional variations – from Hutsul nativity scenes to Podil fortune- telling. The report contains a wide list of artists and canvases that in their subjects depict the living spirit of the original Ukrainian culture, the roots of which go back to the Neolithic era (6-4 thousand BC).